ABSTRACT
This chapter considers in detail the nature of the collaboration and offers specific examples and suggestions for building sharing protocols which will enhance the mentee’s confidence and abilities. A collaborative relationship in which mentor and mentee explore together the issues that face a teacher in building skill and professionalism moves beyond the attitudes and sees reflection as fundamental to full development. In some senses, observation and feedback are a microcosm of the mentor/mentee relationship; a genuinely collaborative approach will support a broad range of successful joint activity elsewhere. Collaborative working supports reflection, which is the engine of development. English Teachers job as mentor is therefore to create events which will provoke reflection, and then to guide and support that reflection. The chapter offers a series of collaborative lesson planning activities which particularly focus on areas which are crucial to a beginning teacher’s development.
